Debra Eisenberg, Librarian at the Hospital, describes how Knowledge Finder® was introduced to the institution:

"The decision, in 1991, to subscribe to MEDLINE on Knowledge Server (KS) by Aries Systems Corporation, was based on affordability and users' satisfaction. Vendors had been asked for a month's trial of their products for patron and staff evaluations. Library users were encouraged to review all displayed products, simultaneously, and report on which was their favorite, and why. The Aries product proved to be the most popular by far.

"Novice, intermediate, and experienced searchers were easily accommodated by KF's search engine with its built in software/interface features such as fuzzy logic and natural language searching. The relevance filter never fails to impress all levels of searchers. Residents particularly like a system feature which displays journal holdings on an issue-specific basis -- especially when they are told at 5:00 pm that they must present at 8:00 am the next morning.

"Teaching MEDLINE to a diverse population, with a computer literacy ranging from tekky to phobic, is facilitated by an elegant and clear search screen. KS, at NSUH, began as a Macintosh stand alone, graduated to a three-station network with dial-in ports, and currently runs on the host/client product. Subscriptions to additional data bases are planned for the coming year. The library staff has always found the Aries'staff to be knowledgeable, helpful, tolerant, and responsive to requests for enhancements, information, etc."

Debra Eisenberg
Librarian
North Shore University Hospital
26 April 1998

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